Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-06-05

to have read and admired long
ago. and do them to the accompani-
ment of such starry vaults and glowing
sunsets as beggar description. Fernando
Noronha doomed into sight one bright
forenoon, when the flying fish were
fluttering in shoals off the face of the
sea. Some of them were unfortunate
enough to flutter on board, and were
cooked fresh for their palms. Their fresh
ness was their only merit, however; a
flying fish tastes like an insipid mackerel,
as does bonito also; and, on the whole,
they are much better sporting in their
native element than smoking on a tea
table. Fernando Noronha has the APP
pearance of a vast cathedral but, rocky
as it is there is one nook sacred to palm
trees and rich tropical vegetation. Here
it is that a small Portuguese settlement
of convicts till the soil, far from the
maddening crowd, superintended by one
army officer and a handful of soldiers. l
much wished for half day calm that
we might get ashore, but the wind swept
us past the island, and we made no halt
till the pillared height overlooking Per-
nambuco revealed first glimpse of South
America. Very attractive coasting it was
crawling outriggers sailed by nearly naked
negroes of most magnificent physique.
The dizziness with which they handled
their sails was amazing, for round about
there were plenty of sharks, one brute in
particular, who gave me a nightmare
for weeks running. He took fancy to
the Al for few days, and followed
close under the stern. making visible
impression aboard, there being much
speculation as to which of us he was to
get. He nearly got the carpenter, for on
going :" bout ship" that officer was
caught by the leg in a rope and swung to
the maintop, from which he fell head
foremost among some loose sails. Though
picked up as dead, he soon came to him
self, and our shark sheered off the same
evening foreseeing that a white man was
not going to come his way. The voyage
skirting the coast of South America, but
well out of sight of land, is not eventful.
We get into the regions of new stars, we
go from hot to warm, from warm to
cold: new sea birds come into view, the
Mother Careys being joined by flock of
cape pigeons and an occasional albatross.
But off the River Plate we had one
nights experience of the artillery of
Heaven. Dirt the mariners call such
weather; and for five mortal hours they
had to fight with wind rain, light
ming: wishing they were loot
O this dirt, - as the captain expressed it.
l shall not attempt to describe that terri
BILE midnight, when the whole forces of
chaos seemed let loose, and peals of
thunder. as of the noise of many battle
frnl.l Il
lightning Glove the air in menacing fig
ures of seven, making blacker the black
pail which hung over the ship. Yet out
on the crosstrees there were CHEEKY lads
voices all the time. and everybody seemed
to enjoy the unwonted commotion. But
the older men were pleased to hear that
I the customary rum cask for use at the
Horn was to be tapped that night, and
they relished their keg after the hurry
burly was over and the ship out of danger.
Off Patagonia we become aware of the
sort of weather which awaits us at Cape
Horn. IL is the month of November, and
tie spring of the year in these ATTITUDES
by the time we make the Straits of Le-
marie, separating Staten Island from
TERRA del Fuego, there are the first indi-
cations of Horn rollers. We are a couple
of days in mastering the difficulties of
the straits, and have fine opportunity
of studying the outlines of Staten and
Fuego. TERRA del Fuego, on the right hand,
pierced by black valleys, running into
frozen mountains; Staten, ON the left
hand, with icy crags hanging sheer into
the sea, and cutting the air in white
spires; no sign of habitation or human
life, nothing alive but wide winged birds,
strangely tame, coming to us from the
further seas.
Sailing beneath these Staten crags and
looking toward the island of savages,
one realizes this cold vision of immortal
ity. A man can think himself out of
life and into eternity, and suppose him
self to Ike there. There is a terrible
silence; the shadows of the valleys seem
never to have been lightened by the
sun; the mountains never scaled by
human foot. Only birds can have
gone thither, and only birds come from
them, with hoarse voices and beckoning
heads. The Al takes her time, while
we eagerly look out for Fuegians, and
hope for speedy exit into Antartic waters.
A frightful region, truly, and we are not
sorry to leave it behind, and 60 south to
the verge of the icebergs.
Thus we do not see Cape Horn at all,
being many degrees away from it; and
for week and half the ship runs with
bare poles to the west, the sailors end
being under water most of the time. We
live at right angles to everything, with
an extinguished galley fire and scant
food, forums Of rum and biscuits being
the main support of life. The wind is
with us, however, and soon we are climb
ing up the Pacific, and hope one night
to hail the North Star.-W. Sine in
Home Chimes.